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Has anyone had a hysteroscopy with D&C? I'm scared!

Dear Ladies,
I am having a hysteroscopy with a DandC on Monday.
I now have a mass in there that grew in three months. Because of all the problems I've been having for so long, I know I need a hysterectomy. I finally agree that my quality of life won't improve without one.
I am so terrified of the pain that will come after this surgery because my uterus is already incredibly tender. They tried to do a water US, but couldn't because my cervix is so tender. This was to find out more what they're dealing with. All I know is that I was in terrible pain way before this mass showed up. I wish I could just have the hysterectomy, but they are concerned it may be cancer. I think if its not, its definitely adenomyosis. Maybe the mass is an Adenomyoma?
I have been crying so much each day, I'm sick to my stomach and I wonder, will I ever be able to sit in a chair again or sleep in the same bed as my DH? I just feel my heart breaking inside. I know cancerhead can be very scary. I wish someone would tell me I'm worried for nothing, but nobody is. They are all saying its right to be concerned. The closer I get to surgery, the more I feel my heart coming out my throat. Please somebody tell me they've been through this before and coped. I'm so worn out and overwhelmed with all I've gone through over the last year.
Thankyou dear ladies for your help.
Heather

Prior to my hysterectomy, I had a laparoscopy, hysteroscopy, and D&C, all under general anesthesia at a surgical center. My diagnosis was endometriosis and my surgeon took care of as much of it as he could during the procedures.

Have you talked to your doctor about your fears? For one, you might benefit from some anxiety meds for the days leading up to your procedures. Two, if cancer is a concern, are you seeing a gyn/oncologist? If not, that type of doctor may be able to offer you some great support and treatment for whatever is going on.

If you can, try to take a walk, read a book, play a game, soak in the tub--something to take your mind off of your fears for a little while. I find when I am really stressed and/or worried, if I can give my mind a break, eat something, and get a bit of sleep, it can help me cope much better!

Dear Weiser,
This surgery will be my fourth in one year, so I've had surgery before. This one is the scariest for me. I went to this Dr. because he was the one who could do a hysteroscopy to determine why I'm having the problems I've been having. He is not a gyn onc. I tried getting into seeing one and I don't know if it was miscommunication or what but their office said the gyn/onc wouldn't see me until a dx was made.
I am worried and I hope its not for nothing that this Dr. knows what hes doing if he does find the unspeakable. So I guess right now, i just gotta have faith. You are kind to offer your insight.
Its just that I have been seriously impaired since this all started with pelvic infections, bleeding and unbelievable contant pain. I just dont know how much more I can take before I break. I have been depressed lately with all the impact this has had financially and emotionally on my family. Nothing in my life is normal and I've been feeling kinda lost in all this.
I am tired of begging for pain meds and of being in pain despite them. Pain robs one of the ability to cope well. My heart goes out to all women going through this. Thank God for this site. I don't know what I'd do.

My heart goes out to you. This is a very hard journey, and unfortunately we all meet under circumstances we'd rather not be in.

I have had a D&C and a hysteroscopy twice in the past 4 months and have had D&C's three times prior to that. The two latest were done with additional procedures, so I'm not counting them as 'typical'.

To be honest, the simple D&C's were wonderful. They removed all the "stuff" that was causing me pain and bleeding and gave me relief for a while. I woke up feeling so much better.

Yes cancer-head is an awful thing to have and no matter how much chocolate you eat or how much you try to distract yourself, you will still have cancer-head. Be kind to yourself, let your emotions out, share your fears and don't feel like you're alone in this.

My only advice I can offer is to remember that this is the step you need to take to find out exactly what you are dealing with, and once you know then you can make a plan - and a plan makes everything seem a little easier. If they find cancer then at least they've found it now - no matter how scary a prospect that is. I pray that this is not the outcome, but if it is, you've got the support of so many wonderful people here.

Dear Ned Bear,
Thankyou so very much for what you said. It lifted my spirits. I was especially comforted by how you said that you felt better after a D&C.
Right now when I'm bleeding I am paralyzed. I dont know why it happens, but my body literally feels frozen. The 7.5 vicadin I take, I need two of them when I get like that and I still want to scrape the skin off of my face. So I've been afraid of a procedure that will work over my uterus like that. I guess I'm afraid I won't be able to cope. I am however, optimistic because of what you said. It gives me hope. I needed to hear something positive about this surgery. Thankyou!
I'm so tired of horror stories. I don't know why people tell horror stories to loved ones when they know they have to go through the same surgery? It does no good.
I am relieved by your happy thoughts. It is so appreciated.
I hope you are getting well in the land down under. Please keep in touch.

In October of last year I too had a D&C as well as a laproscopy. The pain after the procedure was not too bad. I was down about a week. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. I also wanted to let you know what you are feeling is completely normal the closer I got to the procedure and my hysterectomy I got soooo nervous and scared. Hopefully after this procedure you will have answers as to what is going on with you and a plan of action to get you healthy again. Best of Luck!!

Hi Butterfly-My D&C and hysteroscopy was done on the 18th of jan and it went really well. I had it performed for endometrial thickening and post menopausal bleeding. I didn't have any cramping at all afterwards, even though my doc said I'd probably have some. I had some sutures because of vaginal tearing due to atrophy and they stung for a day or 2. But nothing more.

I know people love to tell their horror stories, and sadly they are ones who are most vocal, but I had no problems. I had spinal anesthesia and was awake the whole time and felt absolutely nothing except for a tugging sensation. Some people even have it done with general anesthesia, the anesthesiologist will discuss your options before hand.
I thought I would be having general but my anesthesiologist suggested the spinal and I went with that.

The important thing is to ask questions and speak up about your fears and preferences. I had the same question about why not just do a hysterectomy, but my doc explained that if they found cancer during the D&C then the hysterectomy was a more involved surgery (lymph node sampling, peritoneal wash and exploration) and that she would send me to a gyn/onc if that were the DX. So it made a lot of sense then to go ahead with the D&C. If I'd have had a simple hysterectomy and they did find cancer, then they would probably have to do a 2nd surgery to stage the cancer. I think their goal is to do the least invasive things first. It drives us patients nuts--but it does make sense.

I'll add you to my prayer list and I hope every thing goes smoothly for you....<<<HUGS>>> Lynne

I had a D&C with hysterscopy on Dec. 1 and it was not bad at all. The worst part is waiting for the biopsy results. I was lucky and mine showed no cancer, but hyperplasia and a polyp was removed.

I'm scheduled for my hysterectomy on Feb. 18th and I still sometimes wonder if maybe there is cancer in there that wasn't picked up by the biopsy. I think it's natural for us to worry, we just need to try to not overdo the worrying. I know, hard to manage!

You might want to look into guided imagery to help calm you down. Google "Belleruth Naperstek Surgery" and click on the addy that has health journeys kaiser in the address. You can listen to the entire CD there ~~ imagery, affirmations, and relaxing music for surgery and healing. I have it on a MP3 player and will listen to it every day and take it to the hospital with me.

Butterfly, I am glad as you are to find this site, so that I too could talk and listen with those who have similar situations and can understand. But one little tid bit of advice. If your anxiety is up real high it will actaully make your pain level worse. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE talk to your physician about it. I have had many things go on with me over the past 10 years and finally went to a therapist who did hypnosis for pain management. She also too convinced me that the anxiety need to get under control to control the pain. So I finally spoke with my physician and they did prescribe some anxiety medications which allowed me to take significantly less pain medications. A life and mind saver. Be your own advocate. You know your body better than anyone else. If it does not feel 100% right get another opinion, even if it is a 2nd, 3rd or 4th. There will be someone out there who fits what you need. Good luck.

So sorry you are going through all of this high stress and pain. I have had 3 D&C's since 2003. Each time I had the Transvaginal US the the pelvic check. Two were done with the hysteroscopy. I was not in pain like you are though. I was having post-menopausal spotting/bleeding. I also had a thickened uterine wall. That got worst each time. My first D&C with the hysteroscopy in 2003, the doc did not find any reason for my spotting. Then in 2004 I had another D&C with the hysteroscopy. Again a thickened uterine wall. This time the doc found a polyp and removed it and said that he might have missed it the first time. I continued to periodically have the spotting and must say that I let it slide a lot of the time. That doc left the practice, so then I really let it go until I found a new doctor in July 09. I had started having the spotting in March 09 then it went into a full period. It happened again in June 09 and then in July 09. I knew I should not be doing the spotting let alone the bleeding like a period. So in July I called in and a new gyn took me on and she immediately scheduled me for the Transvaginal US and then a pelvic exam with her. We then set the date for the Aug 24 D&C. Again she found nothing, just knew that I had the thickened Uterine wall again. Her concern was that they were missing getting the right tissue sample. When the lab report came back, it showed that it looked like cells might be forming. No pre or cancer dx though. Well, then 3 months to the day after the last D&C I had the spotting and then into a full period again. I called her immediately. Went right in and she just did another pelvic exam and we discussed the hysterectomy again. We set that date for Dec 28. She had no explanation for why I was spotting/bleeding. Again just the concern of uterine cancer. For me, not being in pain like you, the D&C's were nothing, maybe just light cramping. I was given general anesthesia each time.Actually I wanted to go and eat breakfast after the first one was done. My husband would not allow me. I came home and got on the computer. The other two D&C's, all I wanted to do was sleep when I got home. But I must say that each time I would start spotting/bleeding I was scared to death that I might have uterine cancer since that is one of the signs, but they never found anything but the one polyp and thickened uterine wall. Something was not right. After the hysterectomy, she said that there was a polyp that had a very thick stalk that she was not even sure that she could have removed. It had to be there and hiding when the 3rd D&C was done. Just had my 4 week post op with her on Thursday. The lab report stated that there was hyperplasia and of course the polyp with the very thick stalk, but no pre- cancer or cancer was found. She told me the cells could have turned into cancer down the road. So I was not so smart letting it go like I did. I was fine about the hysterectomy at the time the date was set, but then became so nervous and upset. The tears would just roll, especially the night before when I had to do all of my prep. I was a real mess. All my husband would do was tell me that as he saw it I had two choices, either have it done or don't have it done. A lot of help wasn't he. I even told the little young nurse that morning that I was just going to run away. She said she would just have to come after me. I thought I was going to throw up that morning. Just shaking inside again. I did not react like that for the D&C's. I must tell you that now after hearing the pathology report, I am very very glad that I had the hysterectomy. It was LAVH BSO. I am 61 yrs old and she said my ovaries were dead and I did not need them. Nothing would change for me at all and so far it has not. I never took the HRT and don't need it now. I have followed her instructions and feel lucky to have not had any problems. I am tired, but that is normal. I started to have problems having the BM's, but immediately started on the Prune Juice and had been eating lots of fruit and that helped me. Again, I was one of the lucky ones that was not in a lot of pain afterwards, so I only took the Motrin at home. I had some cramping at home, but not bad for me. I have really taken it easy.

Butterfly, I fully understand how nervous and upset your are. You unfortunately have a mass in there and you have no choice but to find out what it is and get it out of there. You just cannot wait. My doctor did talk to me about if it was uterine cancer that they just remove everything and it is gone. Hopefully if that is the dx, then they can find it early. I just remembered reading that a polyp can be the size of a sesame seed up to the size of a grapefruit. I had no idea and it is no wonder that if they can be that small that the doctors can miss them during the D&C's. My now 92 year old Aunt had a cyst on her ovary the size of a grapefruit in her thirties. They removed her one ovary years ago and she has been fine since, according to her.

StarryNite gave you some info on guided imagery. I am going to look into that myself. Now I am facing a Total Hip Replacement on March 16 and although I know again that I have no choice but to have it done or end up in a wheelchair. I am in pain with my back and I guess my hip. I have no quality of life like you said because I hurt so bad when I walk that I don't walk much and limp. So, I know that the closer that date gets I will be a real mess again.

Butterfly, you need to have the D&C done to find out what is in there. You have no choice and I know you are scared to death right now of the dx. If you do need to have a gyn/onc then you will be able to get in to one. I check the US News & World Report online under their Health Section, on the right side of the page now, to see who they rated as the best and what hospitals were the best. It looks like they did not rate the Doctors this year, but still the better hospitals draw the best doctors. Check the hospital websites in a larger city around you and see who they have. You might have to travel. Do you know any nurses, they always know who the best are? Do your research on this yourself. I am traveling 65 miles or more each way to see a Spine Specialist who then sent me to the Joint Implant Surgeon, in the same building, first before he will touch my back problems. They are both known to be very good doctors and I would not let anyone in my town touch my hip and there is no one for my spine. I did find both of those specialists listed on the US News and World website in 2007. A Chiro gave me the name of the Spine Surgeon and someone in my town told me that people were going to this JIS for their knee and hip surgeries. He is Internationally known. I checked their websites and I was very impressed with their bios. Make sure you get the best doctor that is kind and helpful. You have to be comfortable with your doctor. My family doc is of no help to me. I went to her in 2006 with all of the same symptoms I now have only they are now much worse. I have done my research myself and told her who I was going to. Not happy with her care and will change when I can get into another doctor that is halfway decent. I must say that she is not a mean person, actually a nice person, but I am just not happy with her care. We deserve good care, please keep that in mind. Like others told you, get more opinions if you need them. I really don't understand why you cannot get into a gyn/onc because I have read on here that some ladies do get in to them without a dx. Maybe some of them require a referral and some don't. Listen to Ideadesign and let your doctor know of your concerns about this surgery. There is help for you. They can and do give people something to calm them down all the time. They will all understand too. It sounds like you are getting slammed with the surgeries this year. I was so healthy for years and then wam bam. That is how I feel.

We are here for you anytime. You will find a lot of support on this site and a lot of information.

I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers and I am hoping and praying for the best for you. Please let us hear from you after your D&C on Monday. Your feelings are very normal, a lot of us have been through the same. I know I was scared to death that I would get the cancer dx. I just couldn't keep having D&C's everytime I had spotting and bleeding and I did know that but it was still a very decision I had to make.